Elevator Pitch
Are you the only PowerShell scripter on your team? Or are you just getting started? No matter what your application is, the PSKoans module is an excellent teaching system that will get you, or a classroom of students up and running in no time, along a rewarding learning journey.
Description
Mastery comes from a thorough understanding and ability to effectively apply the basics, and such an understanding can only come from continually applying the available tools in order to solve problems. PSKoans provides a guided framework around which you can base one-on-one or group lessons. The module is available on the PSGallery, so students can participate in class discussions and collaborative learning, as well as complete portions on their own time as homework.
One of Thomas’ initial primary responsibilities on the ops-centric team he works on, was to lead the way towards a proper DevOps and automation culture. That started with learning how to write and use PowerShell. Thomas used the PSKoans learning system in a classroom environment with tremendous success and engagement, to help get his teammates up to speed. In this session, you’ll learn everything you need to know so you can do the same.
PSKoans is also very effective as a self-teaching tool; it allows you to try solutions and can give you immediate feedback on exactly what the result was, and what you need to look at changing. You can even add your own assertions to test yourself on the way to learning a particular lesson and verify your own assumptions as you work towards a solution. Every failed attempt is a step on the road to mastery, and each step on the road gives you something new to learn, or a new way to apply something you’re already familiar with.
Summary
Some of the main points that will be covered are:
- History of “koans”, concept, and purpose
- Getting started with PSKoans
- Fun with PSKoans (Demos!)
- Teaching with PSKoans
- Contributing to PSKoans
- Koans & Katas for other Languages
Notes
As the author of PSKoans, Joel is probably best acquainted with how it functions and some of the ways it can be used.
Thomas is definitely better qualified to talk about using it from a teaching perspective, as he’s actually taught a number of his coworkers and peers using PSKoans.